Mild Food Poisoning
Mild food poisoning is a frequently manifested ailment, caused due to consumption of contaminated foods and drinks. To be more precise, food items are fouled by carelessness in cooking, storing and preserving, which overall may cause bacterial growth and accumulation of toxins. Food poisoning is often a mild and short-term ailment, but at times, the symptoms may be severe and life-threatening, lasting for more than a week.
Causes
Mild food poisoning is caused by contamination either with infectious agents or toxic components. The former implies to disease causing microbes such as bacteria (e.g. Salmonella, E. coli), viruses and parasites; whereas, the latter represents non-edible or toxic food sources (e.g. pesticides, poisonous mushrooms) and improper cooking of certain food items. In majority of the cases, poor hygiene while cooking is the leading cause of mild food poisoning.
Depending on the cause and the extent of poisoning or the amount of contaminated food consumed, the discomfort symptoms vary from one patient to another. So how long does mild food poisoning last? As per health experts, it usually lasts for 1-2 days. However, depending upon the cause of the ailment, it may take about 2 weeks for complete recovery.
Signs
Mild to severe food poisoning that affects many people at a time, after consuming the same contaminated food, is called an outbreak. Commonly manifested poisoning signs include stomach pain, upset stomach, loss of appetite and other gastrointestinal problems like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Though fever is usually not seen in most cases, some patients do have high temperature due to mild food poisoning.
Symptoms may be observed immediately after consuming the toxic foods or may occur after several days. For example, consuming poisonous mushrooms causes abnormal symptoms within a few hours; while having foods contaminated with bacteria may take some time to cause noticeable symptoms. It is not unusual to mistake mild food poisoning as stomach flu, in which the latter is exclusively caused due to a bacterial or viral infection.
Treatment
As the symptoms are rarely dangerous, most people do not require therapeutic intervention for treatment. And many of them recover successfully after trying effective remedies. Thus, there is lack of medical data that reveals the actual statistics of food poisoning incidences. Some of the best recommended home treatments are:
- Drink ample amounts of water and keep yourself hydrated. Otherwise frequent diarrhea and vomiting may result in dehydration.
- Even if you do not feel like eating, try consuming dry and easily digestible foods. Strictly avoid hot, spicy and acidic foods, which may aggravate the mild food poisoning symptoms.
- An effective home remedy for mild food poisoning is to include probiotic foods and electrolytes drinks in your diet. This will help in treating food poisoning symptoms and replace the lost electrolytes.
- Take adequate rest and stay calm while dealing with the symptoms. Follow personal hygiene and simple self-care tips to prevent contamination of food as far as possible.
